The Horse Protection Commission, Inc

A USDA Certified Horse Industry Organization

Rules and Regulations

The Horse Protection Commission is a USDA certified Horse Industry Organization(HIO) which was established based on the federal guidelines contained in the Horse Protection Act(HPA) of 1970 and its Regulations as amended in 1976.  This federal legislation was enacted to prohibit horses subjected to a practice called soring from participating in shows, sales, exhibitions or auctions.  The HPA is enforced by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) with the assistance of certified HIOs.  These HIOs, following the HPA's regulations, in turn license Designated Qualified Persons (DQPs).  The job of the DQP is to ensure full compliance with the HPA for all Tennessee Walking Horses and Racking horses through a specific and thorough inspection of each horse prior to allowing it to be exhibited, shown or sold. 

Responsibility for preventing sored horses from being exhibited, shown or sold rests with owners, trainers, riders, sellers, show and sale managements, and thus familiarity with the Horse Protection Act and it’s Regulations as amended is essential to ensure compliance with the law.  Similarly, participants at an HPC affiliated event, are governed by the rules of the HPC.  The full regulations are provided here.